Fig. 1

Preconception paternal ethanol exposure associates with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and altered postnatal growth. a Average fluid consumption normalized by body weight during the preconception treatment period (n = 5 control and 6 experimental males). b Plasma alcohol concentrations measured at Day 10 and Day 70 of the 70-day preconception exposure period (n = 5 control and 6 alcohol-exposed males). Blood alcohol levels were measured 2 h into the 4-h exposure period. c Average body weight of sires at the end of the 70-day preconception exposure period (n = five control and six experimental males). d Average length of gestation for litters sired by alcohol-exposed and control males (n = 4). e Average litter size between the preconception ethanol and control treatment groups (n = 15 control 19 alcohol). Postnatal weights of f male and g female offspring sired by ethanol-exposed and control males measured over 8 weeks (n = 15 males, 15 females from each treatment group). h Average rate of IUGR at 1 week of age. The graph depicts the number of IUGR pups/the total number of offspring counted in each group. i Rate of bodyweight gain over 8 weeks of postnatal life. Error bars represent SEM *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 [comparisons between 10% (w/v) ethanol plus 0.066% (w/v) Sweet’N Low (alcohol) vs. 0.066% (w/v) Sweet’N Low alone (control) preconception treatments]. Data were analyzed using either an unpaired t test, arcsine transformed and an unpaired t test with Welch’s correction applied or used in a two-way ANOVA followed by Sidak post hoc analysis